Timothy Sykes is a rare creature. He’s one of a tiny handful of individuals that can call themselves penny stock celebrities. He’s appeared on the Steve Harvey and Larry King shows and has received coverage in a range of top-tier publications, including Forbes. He boasts millions of followers worldwide.
Yet claims that Timothy Sykes is a scam abound. People take issue with everything from the four-figure price-tag of his premium “Tim’s Challenge” product to the extravagance of his Instagram posts.
If you’re starting out in penny stocks, you’re guaranteed to come across Timothy Sykes at some point. So should you purchase one of his many training courses? In this post, we separate fact from fiction.
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Are Timothy Sykes Scam Claims True or False?
We get it. You haven’t got all the time in the world.
Like any budding trader, you want to spend as much time sitting in front of your tracking software monitoring the movements of the market. That’s why we’ve organized the most pervasive criticisms of Timothy Sykes into an easy-to-digest list. Let’s dig in.
- Claim : Penny stocks are always destined to lose money.
You’ll often hear people say that trading penny stocks (company shares valued under $5) is a guaranteed way to lose money. And it’s true that penny stocks have garnered something of a negative reputation over the years. Films like The Wolf of Wall Street certainly haven’t helped.
True or false? False.
Penny stocks are risky. They’re not usually traded on large exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange, which subjects companies to stringent rules, especially in regards to disclosure of certain types of information. Companies are also smaller and tend to be much less established. This means that penny stock trading is highly speculative. But there is without doubt money to be made.
- Claim: Timothy Sykes is just repackaging basic trading techniques.
A common criticism is that Timothy Sykes is just repackaging traditional trading tips that are already in the public domain. Beginners are advised by these critics to find the same information for free elsewhere.
True or false? Partly true but mostly false.
Timothy Sykes does teach the basics. But beginners will struggle to find the kind of structured, in-depth materials that Sykes offers for free. Most of Sykes’ students are just getting started with penny stocks, so they need a solid grounding in the basics.
What’s more, many of Timothy Sykes’ techniques are genuinely innovative. His focus is on encouraging students to build an adaptable style that focuses on short-term market changes while minimizing losses.
- Claim: Timothy Sykes only makes money by selling courses.
How does Timothy Sykes actually make his money? Many have posited that he generates most of his income by selling courses, rather than through trading.
True or false? False.
Sykes publishes his verified trades – both winners and losers – online. And even if he does make a big chunk of his earnings by selling training materials, who cares? Both his backstory and his current performance clearly indicate that he knows what he’s doing. [Gr]
- Claim: Timothy Sykes is operating what is in essence a pump-and-dump scheme.
A “pump-and-dump” is a scheme where well-known gurus or celebrities encourage their followers to buy a stick, thus inflating its price, before selling their own shares for a profit. This is unethical for obvious reasons.
Some have suggested that Sykes uses his large following to inflate the value of stocks he owns, only to get rid of them once the price peaks.
True or false? False.
Timothy Sykes talks a lot about pump-and-dump schemes and how his students can take advantage of them (as well as avoid them).
- Claim: Timothy Sykes’ courses all cost thousands of dollars with no chance of a refund.
Sykes’ top-tier offering is called “Tim’s Challenge”. It costs $6000. He’s also called out a lot for not offering refunds.
True or false? Mixed.
On the first point, it’s simply not the case that all of his courses cost thousands of dollars. His mid-tier “Penny Stocking Silver” program comes in at $149.95/month. You can pick up his book on Amazon for $20.
On the second point, Sykes doesn’t officially offer refunds. So that much is true. But there is a rationale behind this policy. With higher-paid courses in particular, the potential for abuse is high. Sykes puts a lot of work and expertise into his training materials, so it’s completely understandable that he wants to prevent students from taking advantage.
- Claim: Timothy Sykes is a d*/k
A lot of people have decided that they just don’t like Timothy Sykes. Probably because he’s not afraid to pick fights with celebrities and likes to flaunt his wealth on social media.
True or false? Probably false.
We don’t know the man personally. But judging from the amount he’s given to charity, I think we’re safe in saying this one is false.
So Should You Buy a Timothy Sykes Course?
In many ways, the whole, “Is Timothy Sykes a scam?” question is redundant. People that are serious about penny stocks are only bothered about the quality of material, not where it comes from. They’re driven by one overarching motivation: to make money.
If you want to evaluate the quality of Timothy Sykes’ materials, just check out some of his more inexpensive (or even free) materials. He’s written several books and regularly releases content on Youtube.
Even if you opt for his mid-level $149.95/month program, which provides access to over 6000 hours of video training, you can always cancel if you don’t like what you’re getting.
Our conclusion? Timothy Sykes isn’t a scam. And we advise that you check out his training and make your own mind up, rather than go off what you hear on Reddit boards.
About Carson Derrow
